Be smart, play smart, and discover how to play craps the right way!
Games that use dice and the dice themselves date back to the Middle Eastern Crusades, but modern craps is only about a century old. Current craps developed from the ancient Anglo game referred to as Hazard. No one knows for certain the origin of the game, although Hazard is believed to have been made up by the Englishman, Sir William of Tyre, around the twelfth century. It is believed that Sir William’s knights wagered on Hazard during a siege on the fortification Hazarth in 1125 AD. The name Hazard was acquired from the fortification’s name.
Early French colonizers imported the game Hazard to Canada. In the 1700s, when displaced by the British, the French moved down south and located safety in the south of Louisiana where they a while later became known as Cajuns. When they departed Acadia, they took their favorite game, Hazard, with them. The Cajuns broke down the game and made it more mathematically fair. It is believed that the Cajuns changed the name to craps, which is derived from the term for the bad luck throw of two in the game of Hazard, referred to as "crabs."
From Louisiana, the game moved to the Mississippi river boats and across the country. Most consider the dice maker John H. Winn as the father of current craps. In the early 1900s, Winn created the modern craps layout. He put in place the Don’t Pass line so gamblers can bet on the dice to not win. Afterwords, he created the boxes for Place bets and added the Big 6, Big 8, and Hardways.
